


The Virtue of Dorkism and Comic Fixations

by HalcyonStars



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel as The Winter Soldier, Charlie as Tauriel, Comic-Con, Conventions, Cosplay, Dean as Captain America, Gabriel as Loki, Garth as The Hulk, Kevin as Sailor Jupiter, M/M, Sam as Thor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 21:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3665673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HalcyonStars/pseuds/HalcyonStars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Never had he felt so normal, where his inner geek was embraced and celebrated. Here, the minority was the majority.</p><p>Here, he fit. </p><p>“Hey, Cassie, look at over there. Deadpool and Spider-Man are totally going at it. I’ve gotta get a picture of this.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Virtue of Dorkism and Comic Fixations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [perdizzion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/perdizzion/gifts).



“C’mon Cassie, smile! It’s the one place where being a social outcast means fitting in!” Gabriel shouted to his brother, as the shy, timid boy slotted a false metal cast over his left arm. The resin gave a metallic sheen, darks and lights reflecting a chromatic lustre. It was moulded over the smooth ranges of muscle on Castiel’s arm.

A five pointed star sat on his deltoid, blood red dominant among a sea of silvers. It was the only fleck of colour in a monochrome outfit. A leather vest whelmed his chest, straps and buckles hugging its girth.

His cobalt eyes were amidst black smears that ringed his eyes, eyeliner smudged and bled outwards. He grabbed the light weighted mask that clicked into place on his jaw.

His brother looked at him with a cheeky grin, curved golden horns atop his head, gold, green and black robe flowing to the ground as he shook his hips to show himself off. He looked mischievous, and in that moment, lived up to the god himself.

“Mmm, brother, you look ravishing.” He said, quoting his namesake, before adding as a side note, “Almost as good as Sebastian Stan.” Castiel looked down at his cosplay, all suited up and ready to leave for Comic-Con with his brother Gabriel.

“I don’t look _that_ good, Gabriel.”

Gabriel laughed and clapped his brother over the shoulder. “Aw, does someone have a crush?”

The boy blushed beneath his mask, a muffled “He’s handsome” heard from underneath the fabric.

When his brother suggested they cosplay, Castiel as The Winter Soldier and Gabriel as Loki, he had been hesitant. He didn’t want people to think he was strange, subjected to endless teasing like he was at school. Then his brother had reminded him they were going to _Comic-Con,_ and that he’d stand out more if he _didn’t_ dress up.

Hence how they found themselves among a phantasmagorical sea of colour and costume. All around him was the regalia he was so found of, bright and bold tones fitting together like the sheets of a comic book. He could see in his mind’s eye the speech balloons that would hover over people’s conversations, the encapsulation of this very moment in panels across the page.

“This is a nerd’s wet dream.” Gabriel’s voice pulled him out of his daydream, though he remained entranced in the atmosphere around him. Never had he felt so normal, where his inner geek was embraced and celebrated. Here, the minority was the majority, and a sense of belonging warmed him inside.

He didn’t care how trivial it seemed, or how utterly thrilled he was, no one here would ever tell him he was getting too excited for stupid reasons. No one here would look at him strange when he would lose himself within the pages of a comic or rant about his favourite TV series; they wouldn’t judge him when he said he was more interested in Marvel and Doctor Who than parties and alcohol. Here, he fit.

“Hey, Cassie, look at over there. Deadpool and Spider-Man are totally going at it.” Castiel followed Gabriel’s pointed scepter with his eyes, where he saw two slightly lifted masks reveal locked lips among wandering hands. “Man, I’ve gotta get a picture of this.” Castiel barely had time to lecture him on common decency and the boundaries of normal social conduct before a flash flickered in his peripheral vision. Gabriel looked down at his phone in complete awe. “This is fucking great. I can see great things ahead of us.”

They slowly made their way through the crowds, Gabriel stopping to pose for photos with every Tom, Dick and Harry Potter his heart desired.

“Now, we have a couple hours before that ‘LGBT Comics For Young Readers’ panel you wanted to go to, so you have some time to kill.” Castiel backtracked at Gabriel’s words.

“What do you mean _you_ have some time to kill? Where are you going?”

“To hook up with hot Thor over there.” Gabriel nodded to a tall boy with shaggy but soft looking hair, dimples on his face that gave him a youthful beauty. “I wouldn’t mind guarding that ass.” Gabriel was met with silence and Castiel’s judging eyes. “Aww c’mon Cassie, Asgardian, _Ass Guardian…_ Lighten up bro.”

“Not two minutes ago you were talking about how you’d, and I’m quoting you, ‘wouldn’t mine taking some solid dick from _that_ Iron Man.’” Castiel jerked his head in the direction behind them, his brother once more admiring the attractive cosplayer.

“Hey, that line was clever, quoted the comic and the whole shebang.”

Castiel – try as he might – couldn’t refrain from rolling his eyes. “How many times must I tell you, Gabriel, the original dialogue was ‘solid advice.’ Look at 1974’s Captain America #176 by Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema, it’s all in there.”

“And how many times have I told you that I just don’t care.”

Cas resigned himself from the oncoming argument, he would enjoy this day, with or without his brothers constant commentary.

***

Dean stood dressed as the great Captain himself, his shield clanging heavily against his brother’s hammer.

“Sammy, get that frickin hammer away from my shield, you’ll scratch it.”

“Dean, I told you, it’s called Mjölnir, not ‘that frickin hammer.’”

“Too bad it’s not called scissors, I’d be able to cut your hair with it.”

“God, you’re such a jerk.”

Before Dean could respond with his customary ‘bitch,’ his face was buried in a sea of red, slim arms wrapped around his shoulders.

“Jeez, give a guy a warning Charlie.” He laughed, admiring the fireball that stood in front of him. She twirled full circle to show off her costume, a brunswick green two piece bodice dress with brown leather pants and knee-high boots to match. Flung over her shoulder, sat a collection of arrows to complement the bow in her hand. Her hair was styled into a neat braid that flowed in waves over her green hood.

“How does it look? Do I make a good Tauriel? I just thought this way I don’t need to wear a wig, and it makes sense because let’s face it, I’m badass. I was going to come as Hermione but I totally don’t have the look for it, and I could have come as Ginny but if you’re not going to do it right don’t do it at all. And-“

 

“-Charlie, you look great.” Sam said, and Charlie smiled.

“Your right, its Kevin we should be worrying about.” Both brothers looked at each other, perplexed. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before their queries were remedied. Kevin wandered up, auburn red wig, white and green dress finished with an oversized pale pink bow at his chest.

“Sailor Jupiter? Really, Kevin? That is the most ridiculous costume I’ve ever seen.”

“If you think this is bad, then I can’t wait to hear what you say when you look behind me.”

And yes, there was Garth, tall and lanky with limbs too skinny for his towering height, the boy they always worried would snap in half if the wind blew too hard, shirtless with purple pants barely clinging to his hipbones, slathered in green body paint.

“The Hulk.” Dean said, matter-of-factly. 

“Yeah, man. I totally have the body for it.”

Dean opened his mouth to counteract that point, before realising no words would truly be great enough to fit the situation, and settled for shaking his head and huffing a breathy laugh instead. Their group was almost full, they were only waiting on one person now.

“Has anyone seen Jo?”

“She told me she couldn’t come, but for ‘you losers’ to have fun.” Charlie answered.

“Figures.” He scanned his eyes through the crowd, admiring the effort some people had put into their getups, when out of the corner of his eye he saw an extremely attractive boy dressed as Bucky. His already otherworldly blue eyes were highlighted even more by the black eyeliner that bordered them, and Dean would be lying if he said it didn’t turn him on more than a little.

“Hey Charlie?”

“This Charlie sounds hot, but unfortunately, as I am so clearly Tauriel, I wouldn’t know who that is.”

“That’s a shame, because Charlie would have loved to see me go talk to that hot guy over there. What does Tauriel think about that?” Dean quipped, and the energetic red head looked over before whistling appraisingly.

“She thinks that a certain Captain should go forth and bring to life some onscreen UST. Go!” She yelled, sending him off with an encouraging thumbs up.

Dean made his way through the bustling crowd, fighting against an inexorable tide in his efforts. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally reached his target, who unbelievably, was getting even more attractive with proximity.

“Bucky.” He said, flashing his signature smile, a hint of a smirk but also clearly friendly. The boy looked up, and wow, those eyes were even more spectacular up close.

“Who the hell is Bucky?” He retorted, as if by default, and Dean would cringe at himself for the cheesy pick-up if it wasn’t for a third party voice interrupting.

“Costume's a bit much… So tight. But the confidence, I can feel the righteousness surging.” The voice came from another boy dressed as Loki, and if the exasperated sigh from the other teen was anything to go by, they were definitely related. As if his work was done, the boy promptly left the two and instead started making his way over to Dean’s brother. Dean could barely hear him say to Sam “Wowza! Wouldn’t mind having you kneel before me.”

Sam looked over the boy’s head, shooting Dean with a look that said ‘please help me,’ but only got an innocent shrug- ‘what can you do’- in return.

“That’s my brother, Gabriel. I apologise, he can take some getting used to.” The blue eyed beauty said, and his rugged, deep voice had tremors shooting through Dean.

“Yeah, well, it’s _my_ brother who has to deal with him now.”

“Well, then I feel for your brother.”

Dean huffed an awkward huff as he rubbed the back of his neck, his usually confident personality giving way to a shy demeanour. “Oh, I’m Dean, by the way.”

 “Hello, Dean. I’m Castiel.”

“Nice to meet you Cas. So, can I get a pass for that totally lame pickup line, or have you gotten enough already? Did I do that whole thing with the straw and the camel?”

Castiel gave a throaty chuckle again, and Dean was fast becoming addicted to the sound. “I’ve gotten a few. ‘You’re so hot you give me Torchwood’ was probably the worst of them. I can easily say you’ve been by far the most pleasant.”

Dean threw his head back and gave a full body laugh, his eyes crinkling at their corners as he wiped a stray tear from his eye. “Oh man, that’s great. Other than an ‘I’ll hit your spot every time’ from some dude dressed as Hawkeye, it hasn’t been too bad for me. Definitely sounds like you’ve had it worse.”

They stood looking at another for a moment, words evading them as there witty banter came to a halt. Dean fumbled to find words to fill the silence, yet thankfully, someone else managed to do so.

 _“Doth mother know I’m removing your drapes?”_ He heard Gabriel shout as he tugged at Sam’s costume in a bid to get it off.  

“Oh jeez.” Dean sighed, but revelled in the chuckle drawn from Castiel. “Guess he takes your spot.”

 

They weren’t left alone with each other for too long before Charlie came to alert them that it was time for their first panel, to which they filed in together, the two groups merging seamlessly. One panel turned into the next turned into merchandise stalls, and somewhere along the way, their hands linked together.

By day’s end they had spent all their time in each other’s company, avoiding Gabriel as much as possible, much to Sam’s chagrin –or so he said –though he didn’t seem to mind when Gabriel handed him his number and departed with exaggerated peck on the lips before he left.  Charlie even went so far as to invite them to some fan organised Comic-Con after party where she propose they all go to get drunk. They refused, insisting they had to get home, and Dean found himself disappointed at their oncoming departure.  

“So, ah… I had fun, I’d love to do it again sometime. You know, if you wanted.”

“I’d love to Dean. Here, let me program my number into your phone.” Dean pulled his phone out of his stealthily concealed pocket, trading it with Cas to do the same. They swapped back once done, Dean smiling giddily where he saw the name _Castiel Novak_ on his screen.

Dean stood indecisively, before muttering a ‘what the heck’ and grabbing Castiel by the nape of his neck, and lightly pressing his lips to the other teens. Cas was unmoving for a moment, before his surprise wore off and he reciprocated the chaste kiss. An orange flash resonated from behind closed lids, and they broke apart to find Gabriel manically grinning down at his phone.

“Shit, this is even better! People are gonna go nuts over this!”

If Dean cared more, he would heed Gabriel’s enthusiasm, yet he couldn’t bring himself to care with Castiel in front him. He drew him back in for more, Gabriel’s yells of _‘Work it for the camera baby. Angles, angles!’_ fading into the background.

 

***

 

Dean awoke the next morning in bed with his head buried deep in his pillow, splayed out on his stomach and deeply regretting going to the party Charlie suggested. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, yet he wasn’t sure if it was worth the hang over.

He faintly registered the humming of his phone on his bedside table. He gracelessly slammed his hand on his dresser, feeling around blindly until he felt the device in hand. He rolled over in bed and slowly pried his eyes open, squinting in recoil when the brightness of the screen insulted his eyes. He looked at his inbox, a smile alighting his face when he saw the first message was from Castiel.

**_From: Castiel Novak_ **

**_Hello, Dean. I was wondering if you still wanted to catch up sometime, next week, perhaps. Please, let me know if you are interested, I would very much enjoy spending time with you again._ **

Dean grinned at how Castiel’s formal yet stilted tone managed to bleed through the text, how he could read the words and practically hear Castiel’s voice. He quickly texted back how he’d love to catch up, and how he couldn’t wait for their date. He hit send, only then noticing he had another unread message, this one from Charlie.

He opened the text, expression completely blank before bursting into a loud and boisterous cackle.

**_From: Charlie Bradbury_ **

**_Dude, why do I have a tattoo of_ ** **_Princess Leia_ ** **_in a slave bikini straddling a 20-sided die?_ **

He texted back, content smile on his face as he fell back to sleep.

**_To: Charlie Bradbury_ **

**_You were drunk, it was Comic-Con_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Some fun facts:  
> 1\. Almost everything Gabriel said was some variation of a quote from Loki or movies the character has been in  
> 2\. It took me ages to decide on Kevin's Cosplay because Osric's list of cosplay is virtually inexhaustible and awesome  
> 3\. I couldn't help but use the supernatural comic-con quote. It was super cheesy but the opportunity was there   
> 4\. SDCC actually does have an array of LGBT panels. Yay for SDCC!


End file.
